Inside an 18th century house in Didsbury

Looking back to 2014 ...... before that development.

This is the Pump House.  It has served as an educational institution of sorts since it became a boarding school around 1812.

Later it was turned into a theological college and later still into teacher training college.

And before that was a private residence dating back to about 1744.

The stone cladding to what was originally a brick building was added by the Wesleyans when they took it over in 1841.

They also added the wings at either side and that is what generations of people from Didsbury have seen as they pass by.

I remember it as the admin block when it was the Didsbury College of Education and it was where I attended meetings with teaching staff.

But soon it will all change again as the M.M.U. relocates to Birley Fields.

So for all of those who like me have not been inside since they graduated and for all those who just pass by and wonder what the inside is like, here are a few images from my old friend Pierre who works there and never ceases to enjoy both the place and his role as a teacher.

Something of the grandeur of the building is still there from when it was a private residence and home to the Broome family during the 18th century.

So there you have it, a bit of the building's history and some fine photographs.

And now its time as a college is almost over and as the staff begin to pack up I guess all sorts of records and historical information will be unearthed.

Now as a historian I am fascinated by what might turn up.

After all almost 70 years will have gone past since the college became a teacher training establishment and there will be plenty of stories which might emerge from those records.

This I know because just fourteen years ago my old school merged with another and in the process of sifting and eliminating more than a half century of material many fascinating glimpses of the schools past came to light.

And if any one wants to know a little about the college and its place in the history of Didsbury I shall draw your attention to the book Didsbury Through Time which chronicles the changes to the area over the last century mixing old images of the place with new photographs and paintings and focusing on some of the people who lived behind the doors of the buildings featured in the book.

The book was published in December 2013, and is available at Chorlton Bookshop and in Didsbury from Morten’s Bookshop on Warburton Street, Didsbury, as well of course as other bookshops.



Pictures; of the Pump House courtesy of Pierre Grace, 2014.